Merry Christmas 2018 and Some Exciting Family News

This month has seen a lot of excitement for our family, with the decision to buy a new home, and now some amazing news about our son Ryan! He has chosen to serve a church mission for the next 2 years and we just got the notice that his assignment will be in Hong, Kong, China!

For those of you that our curious, all young adults of our faith (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints) are encouraged to serve for 2 years after they graduate from high school. Young men can choose to serve once they turn 18 and young women when they turn 19. They can submit their applications any time before they reach the age of 26.

Ryan received his call the same day we traveled to visit family for the holidays. It was so special to gather together and share the exciting news with them.

It’s a very special time when a missionary decides to make this huge sacrifice and they never know ahead of time where they will be called. For example, some of my kids’ friends have recently gone to such diverse places such as Liberia, South Africa; Rome, Italy; Auckland, New Zealand, Kansas City, Missouri; and Salt Lake City, Utah. So it can really be anywhere in the world. As you can guess it will be quite an adventure!

They first travel to the missionary training center in Provo, Utah for a few weeks to prepare before they head out to their assignment. Those that will be learning a foreign language will stay at the MTC longer so that that they can begin to learn the language. It’s always amazing to see a young adult not know how to speak a particular language and then come back fluent in that language 2 years later.

Ryan will be speaking Mandarin Chinese on his mission and he’s up for the adventure!!

Ryan leaves in February which will be here before we know it! When he first applied, I was a little worried that his leaving date would coincide with my busy teaching schedule which picks up again in February. Fortunately, he leaves about a week before I go to QuiltCon, so thank goodness the timing works out!

The coolest thing is that at the end of his mission, we have the option to fly to China to visit him and bring him home. I’ve already told the kids we’ll plan a family trip in 2021. I’m not sure if there are many quilters in Hong Kong, but if you know of any – please them know I’m coming!

Needless to say our family will have a busy 2019 but I’m ready to bring it on!

Christmas with cousins is the best! Even though they are much older, my children love hanging out with my sister’s kids: Jacob, Katelyn, and Ethan. And as moms out there already know – it sure is hard it is to get pictures of kids with everyone’s eyes open and looking at the camera, LOL!!

8 thoughts on “Merry Christmas 2018 and Some Exciting Family News”

Belated season’s greetings. I have great admiration for your son, learning a new language, moving to a new country & taking on his mission work all at once. Congratulations to him & all the best for the future. Hope the move is going well & Happy New Year.

Congratulations to Ryan. Hong Kong is my absolutely favorite city in the World. And while many do speak Mandarin, the majority of the population is highly educated and speaks fluent English. I hope your entire family gets a chance to visit Ryan and explore Hong Kong. Super fun city.

That is so awesome! China! I have two of my grandchildren on missions – one in California and one in Italy. Three are returned missionaries – one served in Pennsylvania, one in Georgia and one in the same California mission as the one currently serving! It’s been an awesome growing experience for each of them.